Top Workplaces survey seeks the answers

Published 5:30 am, Friday, October 29, 2010

For the past four years, the Pennsylvania-based research firm WorkplaceDynamics has sought to answer a question we've all considered at one time or another: What makes a great workplace?

In 2010, the company conducted its survey in Houston and 19 other major U.S. metropolitan areas. It solicited 1,352 companies in Greater Houston to participate in the study. Of those, 188 companies with a total of 118,555 employees took part.

One conclusion of all that research is that worker satisfaction is based on more than just money. In fact, the direction a company is taking and how leaders communicate rank higher on the list of what's important to employees.

"There is a hierarchy of needs in the workplace. Pay and benefits is kind of at the bottom of that hierarchy," said Doug Claffey, chief executive officer of WorkplaceDynamics.

"It is necessary that pay and benefits are sufficient that people don't feel taken advantage of, but you can't pay somebody more money to make them feel better about their workplace."

This section highlights 100 companies that WorkplaceDynamics cited as great places to work in the Houston area. The findings are based on the responses from 54,232 employees to questions about the direction their company is heading, opportunities for advancement and relationships with managers — in addition to their pay and benefits.

The organizations on the list include public and private entities and nonprofits. There are energy companies, schools, hospitals, retail stores, banks, senior living communities, accounting firms, law firms, manufacturers and services companies.

The companies on this list are divided into three groups, by size, and ranked in order of their scores on the survey.

Nationwide this year, WorkplaceDynamics surveyed more than 500,000 workers at 3,500 organizations in the U.S.

In each market, pay and benefits ranked last on the list of what employees valued most.

WorkplaceDynamics required certain response rates for the survey depending upon the employer size:

Fewer than 100 employees, at least 30 respondents.

Between 100 and 400 employees, response rate of at least 30 percent.

More than 400 employees, at least 120 respondents required. Large employers were encouraged to survey all employees but could randomly sample their employees. At least 400 employees had to be included in the random sample.

Employers are ranked by size bands because smaller employers tend to score higher than midsize employers, and midsize employers tend to score higher than large employers.